The invention relates to a cooler for cooling hot bulk material in the iron industry. The cooler comprises:                a grate surface for accommodating the hot bulk material for treatment,        a first cooler wall and a second cooler wall which delimit the grate surface to the right and to the left,        a feeding-in point for the hot bulk material,        a first region which takes up between 20% and 30% of the grate surface, the first region comprises the feeding-in point, and the first region has a fixedly positioned first cover,        a second region which opens upwardly and which is situated between the first region and a third region,        an extraction point for the cooled bulk material,        a third region, which extends over at least 10% to 20% of the grate surface, wherein the third region comprises the extraction point and has a fixedly positioned third cover.        